Spanish learners often directly translate from Spanish (Castilian) to English, which leads to some very specific "Spanglish" errors. Here are the top 10 mistakes native Spanish speakers make, explained with a bit of British humour.
Don't worry if you make these—almost every Spanish speaker does! Recognising them is the first step to fixing them.
1
❌ Typical learner sentence:
"I have 30 years."
🤔 Why learners say this:
In Spanish, you say 'Tengo 30 años' (I possess 30 years), but in English, age is a state of being.
🇬🇧 What it sounds like to a Brit:
Like you have 30 calendar years collected in your pocket.
✅ Natural English version:
"I am 30 years old."
2
❌ Typical learner sentence:
"People is very crazy today."
🤔 Why learners say this:
In Spanish, 'la gente' is a singular noun (es), but 'people' in English is always plural.
🇬🇧 What it sounds like to a Brit:
Grammatically painful! It sounds like you are calling 'People' a single person's name.
✅ Natural English version:
"People are very crazy today."
3
❌ Typical learner sentence:
"I am agree with you."
🤔 Why learners say this:
Spanish uses 'Estoy de acuerdo' (I am in agreement), so learners incorrectly add 'am'.
🇬🇧 What it sounds like to a Brit:
Like 'Agree' is your name, or it's a feeling you have inside you.
✅ Natural English version:
"I agree with you."
🎯 Practice: Fix the Sentence
"The people in Madrid is very friendly."
4
❌ Typical learner sentence:
"I lost the bus."
🤔 Why learners say this:
Spanish 'perder' means both to misplace (lose) and to not catch (miss).
🇬🇧 What it sounds like to a Brit:
Like you owned the bus, put it somewhere, and now you can't find it!
✅ Natural English version:
"I missed the bus."
5
❌ Typical learner sentence:
"Is very important to sleep well."
🤔 Why learners say this:
Spanish often drops the subject ('Es muy importante'), but English ALWAYS needs a subject.
🇬🇧 What it sounds like to a Brit:
Like a robot speaking. We are waiting for you to say WHO or WHAT is important.
✅ Natural English version:
"It is very important to sleep well."
6
❌ Typical learner sentence:
"I am very boring at home."
🤔 Why learners say this:
Confusion between 'estoy aburrido' (bored) and 'soy aburrido' (boring).
🇬🇧 What it sounds like to a Brit:
You are insulting yourself! You are saying that you are a dull person with no personality.
✅ Natural English version:
"I am very bored at home."
🎯 Practice: Which Sounds Natural?
Your friend tells a great joke. You say:
7
❌ Typical learner sentence:
"I want that you come to my party."
🤔 Why learners say this:
Direct translation of the Spanish subjunctive 'Quiero que vengas'.
🇬🇧 What it sounds like to a Brit:
Very old-fashioned and clunky. Like you are reading from a legal document.
✅ Natural English version:
"I want you to come to my party."
8
❌ Typical learner sentence:
"Please explain me this rule."
🤔 Why learners say this:
In Spanish 'explicarme' works, but in English 'explain' requires 'to' before the person.
🇬🇧 What it sounds like to a Brit:
Like you want me to describe you! "Okay, you are tall, you have dark hair..."
✅ Natural English version:
"Please explain this rule to me."
🎯 Practice: Fix the Sentence
"Is raining a lot today."
9
❌ Typical learner sentence:
"The life is beautiful."
🤔 Why learners say this:
Spanish uses articles for general nouns (La vida), but English drops 'the' for general concepts.
🇬🇧 What it sounds like to a Brit:
Like you are talking about a specific board game called 'Life', not life in general.
✅ Natural English version:
"Life is beautiful."
10
❌ Typical learner sentence:
"Thanks for to help me."
🤔 Why learners say this:
Spanish uses the infinitive after prepositions (por ayudar), but English uses the -ing form.
🇬🇧 What it sounds like to a Brit:
Very broken. Prepositions (for, of, about) are always followed by -ING verbs.
✅ Natural English version:
"Thanks for helping me."
🎯 Practice: Which Sounds Natural?
Which sentence is correct?
Ready to Perfect Your English?
English lessons online with a native English speaker on Zoom, Teams, and Google Meet
Let's SPEAK English!